I don’t actually want to fail. However, the fact is that we learn near to nothing when everything is going along perfectly. Recently, I was speaking to the National Speakers Association, Illinois Chapter, telling them that over the years the best lessons I’ve learned as a speaker don’t come from the positive feedback I receive, but from the insightful comments on how I can improve. No one wants to hear that they were terrible, and I certainly never hope for that but I do crave feedback. Ten years ago, a gentleman approached me after a presentation and told me that if I told the story about my grandma in the beginning of my speech instead of at the end, the whole thing would have made a lot more sense, and the audience would probably have liked me more. Liked me more? Oh sheesh! After I stopped crying, I went back and reworked my entire presentation, hired a speaking coach that I continue to see two to three times a year and I continue to improve. Today, because of the hours and years of work, my presentations usually get the highest ratings from the audience and great feedback from the hiring firms. However, that doesn’t mean that I think I’m any good. I still work in the same way that I did the day after I received the feedback 10 years ago. Every presentation can be better and I try to make it so.
Often, we don’t get honest, insightful and helpful feedback because people are afraid to tell us the truth. It takes too much energy to tell someone how they can improve, and frankly, they don’t care. Many businesses ask their clients to rate their service via a survey. However, you must structure the questions properly in order to get frank feedback you need from those who care enough to give it. Try asking a question that might give you insightful feedback, such as, “Could you give us one thing we could do to improve this year?” or some variation on this theme.
I now have a few people I can count on to give me insightful feedback, in addition to my coach, Lou Heckler. If they haven’t seen me speak for a while, I send them a DVD of me speaking and a tin of popcorn, asking them to take one hour and give me feedback. I believe this is how I’ve been able to continue speaking year after year. I’ll be speaking soon at a large Toastmasters convention, where I can guarantee that I’ll get some feedback, I can’t wait!
How do you get feedback to help your business?